Empire of China

The Empire of China was a short-lived monarchy that existed in China from 12 December 1915 to 22 March 1916, with Yuan Shikai ruling as Emperor. Yuan Shikai had served as President of the Republic of China from 1912 to 1915, and he consolidated his power with the help of Japan and the European powers, allowing for him to gain enough support to be unanimously elected Emperor by the National Assembly in 1915. Yuan handed out peerage titles to friends, relatives, and political allies, but his own military commanders opposed his rule due to their loss of leverage, as did the revolutionaries. Cai E launched the first rebellion against Yuan, and the National Protection War broke out between the empire and the rebels. The foreign powers withdrew their support from Yuan, while Japan threatened to back the republicans against Yuan's government. On 22 March 1916, Yuan ended his 83-day reign as emperor by restoring the republic, and he was president until his death on 5 June. The empire's fall weakened the central authority of the Beijing governmnet, which would lead to the start of a period of warlordism in the following years.